The Stakeout
by Cellar Door 26
Summary: What really happened though, was that Nick felt a lust flare up in his limbs so strong that later that night, while driving Kate to his apartment, he was glad Jonathon didn’t find them in a more compromising position. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: The One Where Kate is Hitting on Nick, Instead of the Other Way Around, or The Stakeout  
**Series: **Hint: Kate is Blonde, but that's all I'm giving you.  
**Disclaimer: **Not mine. Just, not mine.  
**Summary: **Looking back now, (knowing what he did) on how odd Kate was acting, Nick wondered if she were wearing a sign proclaiming 'something's wrong with me, I'm acting like a libidinous seven year old' he would have noticed._  
_**Note: **I've had this idea for about a year, wrote the first few pages of this in my english notebook last October and then promptly forgot about it until May. I then typed up about five pages, printed them out, and then my computer died. This is the first chapter of a story that has been typed/written about four times (the last being a badly needed face lift). If I didn't love this story I would have given up long ago. Enjoy my hard work. (PS, Flashback and character's thoughts equals _italics_)

**Chapter One.**

_My butt is sore, K_ate thought. And then promptly burst into a fit of giggles, her blonde hair creating an almost halo effect as she tossed her hair about.

Nick O'Malley, partner and best friend, didn't even look her way. He did, however, release a strand of her hair that had fallen on his lip. Which was pretty odd, if you think about it. To not even glance at the person sitting next to you as they laughed contagiously about nothing. But if you knew the night Nick had been having, that was still continuing on, the act seems more justifiable.

Stakeouts were, to put it nicely, a bitch. A real painful boring tiring, sometimes helpful (but usually not) ordeal. AND that was just alone. So when Nick got Kate as a partner, he expected the event to be a (bitch)2 . The odd thing was, however, that he enjoyed himself more.

Under the cover of night, darkness, secrets were shared, jokes (almost entirely with taste) were told, until it was Nick who found the lost puppy (not got it lost in the first place) and countless take-out (_Nick! I cannot believe you just ordered pizza to come to this car during a sting operation_) eaten.

SO when the captain told the pair they'd be watching an old abandoned warehouse for link activity Nick was secretly happy. Even if he did have to cancel that date with the Russian model. Nick was very careful to hide this truth however, and discovered he'd done such a thorough job, that the moment Kate had to check over the perimeter, she took it.

Which was the whole reason for this current predicament, that he would admit fault. NOPE, if Kate had followed protocol, if she had radioed in the moment there was trouble, they wouldn't be in this mess. _When does Kate not follow protocol?_ the little voice in his head muttered, one he'd been trying to shut up since they left the station, and a little before it. _The only reason she didn't radio any activity is because of you. Because of the way- _

"Hey Nicky, you have very nice ears." Kate's voice cut through his internal monologue, of which he was supremely grateful. Still, his smile had nothing to do with her timing.

"Thank you Kate. They work perfectly fine too, so you don't have to speak directly into them." Kate's giggle, her breath hot against his ear and neck, made something tighten in his chest that hadn't been constricted in some time.

"But I like being this close to you. You smell good. You always smell good." The last sentence was added on as if an afterthought.

"Why Kate, do you smell me often?" Nick knew he shouldn't be speaking like this, not when Kate was in this state, but it was such a change from her normal demeanor that Nick couldn't help himself.

"When you're close enough." That tightening feeling was definitely expanding downward, and in a desperate need to think of other things than his partner, his platonic partner's hot breath against his skin, what it would feel like against other parts of his body, Nick thought back to earlier this evening, when Kate was in danger.

.

_Already gone past the allotted time it took to check out a premise and then some, Nick decided to make first contact._

_"So I was_ _thinking, after you get back we should grab some Chinese. My treat." Silence reined the conversation and Nick believed Kate was angrier at him then he'd anticipated. "I promise not to order it to car." no response. "It could be a sit down_ _restaurant." Impatience_ _turned to worry as Kate didn't respond. "Benson, is everything alright?" Even his poorly managed attempts at reconciliation couldn't end this badly._

_"…Nick?" A cough more than a name, it was followed by silence. Then, "I can't …"_

_"Where are you?" Said in such a rush, a lesser man would have made it one word, _

_"Warehouse, first floor, in the kitchen." The sentence seemed to exhaust her and Kate could only mumble out a "Please hurry-" before Nick grabbed his gun and was tearing into the building. So intent on catching Kate before anything else happened, he didn't notice the grayish figure running in his opposite direction.  
._

Those frightening moments before he heard Kate's voice and then afterwards still chilled him, although Kate's hands were doing a great job warming him up.

"Whoa." An involuntary gasp of air that claimed his vocal cords as Nick moved Kate's hand from its current position. "Do you want me to put your own handcuffs on you?"

"Now Nick, why would you want to do that?" Spoken as the paradigm of innocence, the only undermining of this character trait was its delivery; directly into Nick's ear as her fingers slowly worked their hair into his hair, leaving goosebumps in its wake.

"Because you'd do the same thing to me if I were acting like you are." And he slapped her hand away from the back of his neck, his body screaming in protest.

In a huff, Kate moved back to her designed seat, and Nick was surprised to see her still buckled up. Were he capable, he would have chuckled. Even when Kate was drugged out of her mind, she had safety first.

"I was just checking your pulse." She said nonchalantly, as if he'd just asked her what she'd had for breakfast. "You were quiet for a long time." Sidestepping the joke that popped into his head, Nick couldn't resist,

"On my leg?" Kate was going to kill him when she regained her faculties.

"A large artery is located on the upper thigh." Nick let that go. More because he was afraid he'd let Kate put her hand back on his thigh _(Bad Nick!)_ and less because he believed that her hand was on his femoral artery.

Argument averted, Nick couldn't help but think of when he'd found Kate.

.

_Her prone body lying on the musty floor, hair disheveled and head at an awkward angle, with cooking appliances strung around them_ (Kate had fought back)_ his heart stopped. Or rather, he felt as if it had. His gun as far away from her as possible (it would be comical if it weren't so terrible), he spent a heart wrenching moment checking her pulse. Feeling more than the steady heart beat reawakened Nick to the fact that his heart was beating as well. And much too quickly for comfort._

_"Benson." His voice was tense with worry. No response. Leaning down, he shook her. Again, no response. "Benson, wake up for me. K-?" Her response to his voice was so quick Nick could only barely see what was going on. One moment he was looking down at Kate as she opened her eyes, the next he was looking up at them._

_"Hiya Nick." _

_"Hiya Benson. You ok?" What Nick wanted to ask was why Kate had flipped him over and was currently straddling him, but figured she had faked not being able to wake up and thought him the thing that had attacked her. _

_He was wrong._

_And then, seeing him, and being so relieved that she was safe, she had simply stayed on top of him, because she was so relieved._

_Very, very wrong. _

_"Ok? I'm fine, I'm great, I'm wonderful, I'm.. oh wow, I feel dizzy." Kate rubbed her face with her hand, moving her body off of Nick's. Nick used this opportunity to not feel awkward and surveyed the room. If the bed in the middle of this room was any indication, there was definitely link activity going on in here._

_"Did you bump your head?" Nick asked as he helped Kate to her feet. Kate, in response, said, _

_"No. At least, I don't think, Is the link gone?" Nick admitted that he didn't know, and Kate, in her infinite wisdom, wanted to search for him. _

_"Benson, you know me, I'd love to go chasing after this link-"_

_"Safety off." A smile, _

_"But right now the better idea is having you checked out by-" Kate had already taken off, rounding around the corner. _

_With a long drawn out sign, Nick followed her. And quickly tripped on an old pot, making a significantly louder noise than was strictly necessary and landing hands first into some sort of, well-_

_"Ew." Trying to shake off the goo his hand had not only landed in but seemed to mold to his flesh, Nick tried very hard to not think about all the things the substance could be._

_"Nick, what are you doing?" _

_"What does it look like I'm doing?" Nick's contempt at touching this thing- was magnifying._

_"We need to collect a sample of that!" Kate grabbed an evidence bag from her pocket and tried to catch Nick's wrist. After several attempts of failing to catch some of the goop (scientific term) on Nick's flailing hand, she shot him one of her patented Do-As-I-Say looks. With a sigh, he thrust his hand in her face and gave a posture of defeat. With a smile, Kate quickly deposited a sample into the bag. _

_"Hey Benson- where the hell are the antiseptic wipes?"_

_"In the car."_

_"You're kidding me." Trying to use the counter to wipe the guck off his hand Nick didn't notice Kate lick the small amount of slime that had fallen on her hand. _

_"Hold on, I might have one in my boot." _

_"What?" _

_"Here." _

_"Benson, why do you carry around an antiseptic wipe in your boot?"_

_"Why do you carry around a comic of_ Pearls before Swine _in your wallet?" Nick told himself he couldn't respond to this comeback because it took all his brainpower to open the antiseptic wipe with only one hand. _

_Kate watched him for a few moments in barely contained humor before grabbing the packet out of his hand and ripping it easily. Then, to Nick's amusement, she unfolded the napkin and began wiping the rest of the slime away. _

_Before Nick could really appreciate how it felt to be touching Kate The Macarena cut in. This was probably the only time Nick was dismayed to hear his ringtone. "Hello?"_

_"Nick? Hey, It's me…. Jonathon."_

_"Yes. I know who you are."_

_"Oh, right." An awkward silence, "Well, anyway, the Caption wants you back here. Carl has some informative information on the new Link." Nick wondered briefly if there was any other kind of information before plowing along,_

_"Right. By the way, we found something in an old abandoned warehouse." Nick wasn't exactly sure why he didn't mention Kate's brush with the link. _Later,_ he told himself. _

_"What kind of stuff?" Against Nick's better judgment, he thought about what was on his hand._

_" It's blue-ish, kind of gelatinous, sorta reminds me of my fifth grade science fair project."_

_"Did you inhale it?" Jonathon's voice rose from nerdish excitement to apprehensive excitement. Nick felt a certain kind of achievement to be able to distinguish the two. Kate would have said he had to much time on his hands, so he didn't mention any of this to Kate._

_"No. it's gelatinous, remember?" Nick heard the deep intake of breath that meant Jonathon was about to go into a long complicated explanation when Kate let out a girlish scream. Nick swung his head in her direction but didn't see anyone, any_thing_ beside her hunched over frame._

_"Uh, Jonathon, I gotta go. See you back at the station."_

_"Did Kate inhale it?? Because the repercus-" Hanging up his phone, Nick advanced on Kate._

_"Benson? Are you ok? What's wrong?"_

_"It's.. IT'S A.." Apparently incapable of any other speech, Kate just stared in horror at a_

_"A spider? You're freaking out over a spider?"_

_"Do you have any idea how dangerous the brown recluse spider is?" Kate screeched, suddenly able to speak._

_"That wasn't the brown recluse spider."_

_"How do you know?" Kate asked in a quick breath, moving from her crouched position to tug on his shirt._

_"Because it's back didn't look like a violin."_

_"What?" Kate could not have been more surprised by what Nick'd said than if he'd told her he loved her._

_"C'mon, let's get down to the station. Jonathon has information." Kate's hands tightened on his shirt. _

_"Are you sure that's not the brown recluse?" Her voice took on a hopeful edge, and she edged closer to him. _

_"Positive." Nick wondered if Kate was always this afraid of spiders and simply had been able to control herself better before now.  
._

Looking back now, (knowing what he did) on how odd Kate was acting, Nick wondered if she were wearing a sign proclaiming 'something's wrong with me, I'm acting like a libidinous seven year old' he would have noticed.

"Are we there yet?" Kate voice, sweet and seductive a moment before, now sounded child-like.

"Five more minutes."

"How 'bout now?"

"The same time it was twelve seconds ago."

"Oh. What about now?"

"Kate."

"What? I'm soo bored." Progressing to the awkward teenage years, Kate now attained the amazing ability to magically elongate the word 'so' so that it wound up sounding longer then all the other words combined.

"Maybe you wouldn't be so bored if you were asleep." A futile attempt, but..

"I'm not really in the mood to sleep." She made the end of the sentence pop. An audible gulp from Nick followed.

"Kate?"

"Nicky?" A quick look at her face,

"Never mind."

"Okey Dokey." A brief moment of silence interrupted the exhausting (it's amazing how tiring it is to second guess your reasoning for the night and refuting Kate's advances) car ride, in which Nick didn't use to think about the past evening. "Hey, how come we're at your apartment?"

"Remember when Jonathon, The Captain and I decided that you needed a place to come down from?"

"No."

"You don't?" _So much hope.._

"Wait, was that before or after we made out?" A long, drawn out sigh,

"After."

* * *

What's gonna happen next?  
Will we see Nick realize something is wrong with Kate via flashback? What news does Carl have to share? Will Kate hit on Nick? Will there be some hot make-out scene?  
Tune in for the next chapter to find out!

Oh, and please review, or the next chapter will be taken hostage, never to see the light of this fine website.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title**: The One Where Kate is Hitting on Nick, Instead of the Other Way Around, or The Stakeout**  
Series: **Hint: Kate is Blonde, but that's all I'm giving you.**  
Disclaimer: **I own special Unit 2 the way Jake 2.0 is still making episodes. As in, not.**  
Summary: **"Kate," Nick had a fully fledged sentence ready to go (nouns, verbs, the whole shebang) but it entirely left his mouth, his head, his brain as all rational thought was eaten up with the sight of Kate coming out of his master bathroom in his own clothing_.  
_**Note: **So, yeah, this took a hell of a long time to write out. Super many apologies- um, a bear ate me?

(PS, Flashback equals _italics_)

**Chapter 2.**

"I want soup!"

"Kate..." I'm exhausted, Nick wanted to say, I don't know how to cook Matzoh ball soup, was another. And then, of course, Why the hell won't you go to sleep?

It was currently three am, with no end in sight.

And Nick was getting cranky.

Really, really cranky.

And really, really, really wished he had a dart gun.

"Don't you care about me Nick?" Swirling his desk chair, making it go round and round and round, Kate didn't look the least bit sick.

"Of course."

"Well then, when two people care for each other, and want to express those feelings, they decide to go to the next step that shows an increase of intimacy. Like making each other soup for example." A perfectly innocent conversation, right? So why did it feel like Nick's ears were on fire?

"Kate, I'm tired. I want to go to bed. Don't you want to go to bed too?" As soon as Kate's chair stopped spinning, Nick realized he's said something wrong.

"You want to sleep with me Nick?" Rising out of that chair, Kate had the look of a woman possessed, Nick was in trouble.

"Yes, well no. Er, what I mean is, we need to sleep. Because sleep is-"

"Shush." A word more then the sound, it was emphasized when Kate placed a finger on Nick's lips, "You're rambling."

"No I'm not." Because denial is not just a river in Egypt.

"Oh Nicky." Spoken by a chiding mother, Kate ruffled Nick's hair and then said brightly, "So where's your bed?" Bulging eyes don't look good on many but somehow Nick managed to still look very nice, if not fish-like.

"It's just at the end of this hallway." Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, Nick quickly led his partner to his bedroom, promptly missing a glint in Kate's eye that showed she was still very much on the drug Nick's hand had landed into.

And adamantly refused to see the likeness of this moment and that dream he'd had last week.

Closing the bedroom door (more for his peace of mind and less because it could actually stop Kate from leaving the room) Nick quickly piled the covers on top of his bed and tried his best to tuck them in. As Nick was admiring his work, he realized with some panic that something was missing.

His pillow.

Checking behind the headboard, underneath the bed, behind his dresser, Nick finally spotted his plaid pillow in the closet (don't ask). Placing the pillow next to it's mismatched brother (or sister, Nick's cool that way), Nick took a step back to look at his bed.

"There you are Kate-" Turning to face his companion, Nick saw - no Kate. Instead of her leaning against the dresser and staring off dreamily, he found a dresser drawer open and a red shirt sticking out.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that Kate had ruffled through Nick's drawer's during the long wait, but Nick still went to the aforementioned dresser and found out she'd taken his green n' blue plaid boxers and black t-shirt.

Don't ask how he knew that.

"Kate," Nick had a fully fledged sentence ready to go but it entirely left his mouth, his head, his brain as all rational thought was eaten up with the sight of Kate coming out of his master bathroom in his own clothing.

She was just not playing fair.

"Sorry, I needed pajamas, hope you don't mind." Nick really tried to muster up the strength to mind, thought about the emotions he should be exhibiting right now, the facial expressions he should possess and very pleased with himself, Nick chose to speak,

"Nope, it's fine." Damn. "I made the bed for you." Kate grinned.

"Great." She walked across the room to his bed and sat on the side of it, staring up at Nick, "So which side do you sleep on?"

Nick had no idea how to respond to that.

Well, Nick knew how he wanted to respond, but he also knew how Kate would react if they had well, slept in the same bed together, in her state of mind.

"Kate, I am not sleeping with you tonight."

"Ok."

"Ok?"

"Nick, I understand what this must be like for you."

"You do?"

"Sure. It must be very hard for you to be this emotional close to someone in such a long time."

"What?"

"But I'm not going to let you do this to yourself. It's hard to face your inner demons, but I'm here to help."

What?!" Before Kate could make up more stuff from the top of her head to get her form as close to Nick's as possible, his phone rang.

It was Candi, the Russian model. Or maybe her name was Vicki. Either way, Nick had no intention of answering that phone. So Kate answered for him.

"Hello. Nick's " Nick's night really wasn't going so well.

"Sorry, he can't talk right now. We're just about to get into bed together." Nick felt that 'together' was a superfluous word in that sentence. By the way Kate was saying it, she apparently felt it vitally important. "Would you like to leave a message or num-" Kate set the phone back in its cradle. Turning to Nick, she had a look of confusion but her eyes held no innocence. "She hung up on me."

"Yeah, I wonder why she did that." Heavy with sarcasm, it was met with a shrug from Kate and coy smile that sent Nick's heart into overdrive.

"So, bedtime?"

"Kate. I am not going to sleep with you when you're in this state."

"Oh, so you'd do it if I hadn't been sprayed by that link."

"Uhh." Was Nick's brilliant response.

"I'll keep that in mind." And with that, Kate crawled underneath the covers, claiming the more comfortable pillow for her head, a look in her eye that spoke volumes about her intentions with him tonight.

Twelve minutes later, after three entirely separate and confusing conversations Nick was lying in his bed, next to Kate, over the covers, fully clothed. And yet, even with all these preventative measures, Kate had managed to curve her body against the side of his body, sighing contentedly.

Forgoing any sort of idea that he might sleep tonight, Nick's thoughts traveled back to when they'd made it to the Station.

It started with a groan.

And then a creaking sound.

_"Kinda sounds like Carl after he heard about his family reunion was this week, doesn't it?" Apparently finding this comment hilarious, Kate tilted her head back and laughed for all it was worth._

_It continued as they made their way inside, and Nick for the first time that night really wondered about his partner's mental state. Usually she didn't think his jokes were this funny. And if Kate did happen to think a joke was funny, she was hesitant to admit it._

_"Hey Benson, I don't know what's so different about tonight and your behavior-"_

_"Nick-"_

_"But it's a nice change. You know if you were this loose around your dates you might actually-" Whatever Nick was going to say was lost when he spotted Jonathon, who looked so comical in his search for someone that Nick, for just a moment, forgot entirely what he was going to say (Jonathon also happened to be arguing with a television screen, which was also quite funny). If his eyes had fixed on Kate's for a moment longer he would have seen a gleam in her eye that had the look of that stuff his hand had fallen into._

_But instead Nick completely missed that warning and dragged his partner over to a now overjoyed Jonathon, who was literally bouncing on the tips of his toes, and the moment the pair had made its way over to the overhead projector, Jonathon spoke,_

_"So did either of you-" But of course, the Captain chose this minute to saunter over and spoke in a loud voice,_

_"Ah O'Malley and Benson. What took so long?" As Nick wondered whether to go into the spider debacle or not, Kate spoke up._

_"Sorry Sir, exit from the warehouse took longer than anticipated." Ok, so Benson wanted to save face, that was fine with him. What wasn't fine was when all eyes turned to him, with 'that look'. _

_"O'Malley I do not appreciate your lollygagging when I specifically had Jonathon call you so that you would understand the severity of the situation." That sound when a gaping mouth tries and fails to close- exactly Nick's input into the conversation._

_"But Captain-" Nick was appalled and dismayed the captain would think it was him who held them up to get back to the station. Not shocked, because it was the most rational choice, but still, this time it was definitely not (the Irish aren't afraid of spiders) and that meant he needed to put things straight._

_"And what situation would that be, sir?" To anyone else it would seem that Kate spoke to save Nick from whatever he was about to say, but Nick knew she cut him off to save herself from implication. _

_The manipulative meanie._

_Oh he was going to get her back._

"Hey Nicky?" A whispered question posed to his neck, Nick tried to feign sleep. "Nicky? Nick? Nick O'Malley wake up!"

"Oh, Kate, you're awake. What's wrong?" There was no Suave Nick at three forty-five, but he tried his best to be nonchalant.

"I need water."

"Ok."

"And It's cold outside the covers." Nick had a feeling where this was going,

"Kate, would you like me to get you a glass of water?"

"Oh would you?"

She was good. Gd she was good.

"And what will I get back in return?" The problem with Nick and this situation was that he kept on forgetting not to flirt. See, normally it would be Kate who'd become embarrassed and pretend he hadn't said anything or refuse to see the double meaning. Only now, because of that goop, they'd had a role reversal that Nick could safely say he did not like.

So without waiting for a response Nick flung open the covers and made his way to the kitchen, wishing he could stay to hear how Kate would've responded and once-again cursing his situation.

He was supposed to be the shameless flirt!

_"Ahem!" Carl's voice from a television screen that was situated next to the overhead screen had the effect of annoying Nick even more and well, gaining attention to himself, but mostly it was the annoying bit._

_"I've got a sleeping woman in the other room, so if we could make this quick." Two words sprung to O'Malley's mind,_

_"Yeah and right." But no one paid him any attention, except for his partner, who leaned a bit closer to smell his aftershave._

_No one paid any attention to that, either._

_"Oh, yes, well after you two left to stakeout, Carl and I were cross referencing possible links through a bit of ingenuity on my part-" Jonathon began, totally side-tracked by the thought that he needed to explain this, because Carl would just make mistakes._

_"Hey! Without the name, you'd have nothing."_

_ "And WE were able to compile some factual information on this link." Jonathon flipped some devise in the air (just to look cool), before turning around and pressing some button on it to make the projector light up with an ominous (albeit very obviously amateur photographer) picture of a gray figure. As Jonathon watched everyone look at the projector, he felt a flick of irritation that meant he had a question he wanted to ask but couldn't remember what it was about or to whom he should ask. _

_"This is the link you were on a stakeout for earlier. They're called immunda concubitus deux which is Latin for-"_

_"Dirty sex gods." Everyone looked at Nick._

_"Well yes, roughly translated." Nick could have killed, skinned and eaten a deer on Jonathon's kitchen table and Jonathon wouldn't have looked less hurt about Nick stealing Jonathon's thunder. This made Jonathon focus entirely about his presentation (so such things wouldn't happen again) and temporarily forgot about his nagging feeling._

_"Right, what does that mean?" Kate asked, trying to bring some resemblance of norm to this meeting. Which was kind of funny because her atoms were practically inhabiting the same space as Nick's._

_"It means," Carl cut in, and Jonathon was super annoyed, "that the link you two willy nilly went after without waiting for me to return from my family vacation, which is just rude-"_

_"Carl." The Captain was in no mood for this._

_"Without thinking of the repercussions that could arise because of your overactive human adrenal glands-"_

_"CarL." Nick was in no mood for this. And how his voice squeaked an octave higher at the end of Carl's name, yeah, that had nothing to do with Kate's seductive breath on the back of his neck._

_"Do you have any idea how easy it is to-"_

_"CARL." It wasn't so much that Jonathon wasn't in the mood but that really he wanted to interrupt someone else for a change._

_All eyes went to Jonathon and he chose the moment to finally say what he wanted to on the subject._

_"There is little doubt that this is the link we've been searching for. The three cases of link activity match with this Link's MO. The immunda concubitus deux are known to look like gray blobs. Until that is, they get close enough to a human subject to morph into a composite of what they'd find most attractive. It's actually quite fascinating how they use external factors like proportional size and features to-"_

_"Jonathon."_

_"Right, sorry. Anyway, the immunda concubitus deus then breathes," Jonathon flipped to the next slide, which showed a bluish mist with a rather gorgeous woman falling with her dress billowing out underneath her._

_No doubt the author was a starving artist with no potential dates._

_"Breathes?" The Captain's brilliant input into the conversation, Jonathon was momentarily distracted, did that have something to do with his question?_

_"Yes, sir, breathes on their victim. Which quickly turns into a gel in the outside air, finally drying out and then turning to dust. It's structural formula suggests-"_

_"Basically," Carl cut in, "It makes the girls-"_

_"Or guys!" Jonathon hurriedly interrupted, going a bit mad with the power that came with interrupting others. And the sudden inability to finish a freaking sentence._

_"gaga over this link."_

_"Well technically it inhibits the brain's chemical work-up, slowing down cognitive function, impeding rational thought, kicking up the hormone drive to make the ladies more willing-"_

_"So basically this link uses his breath to make a subject more malleable to persuasion." Kate said, making this her last rational sentence for the night._

_"Right, but the victim can be persuaded by anyone, essentially. It's just that the link happens to be closest that this works so well for them." And then Jonathon remembered a question to ask to wasn't the question, but still a good one to ask. _

_"Didn't you collect a sample of this?"_

_"What? Oh yeah." Nick had nearly forgotten. Turning to Kate, he noticed something very odd._

_"Where's your jacket?"_

Glass filled, Nick walked back to his room, and discovered a sleeping Kate in his bed. Not knowing whether to be pleased (that she'd finally fallen asleep) or annoyed (that she now couldn't drink the water he'd taken the fifty steps to take) he placed the cup on the nightstand on her side of the bed and laid back down.

It was only after he'd gotten himself situated, letting him lie down as close to Kate as he'd allow himself, the smell of her shampoo in his nose, that he realized with Kate asleep (aka pacified) he didn't have to get into the bed. He was finally safe to sleep in his guest bedroom or couch or the floor, if he really felt the need.

But by the time his brain has made the leap, he was extremely comfortable, quite tired and to sleep next to Kate was such a fantasy of his that Nick couldn't really bring himeslf to move.

So Nick decided to rest his brain until the morning.

No doubt he was going to wake up with a headache.

And what with Kate back to normal tomorrow this would probably (definitely) be the last time they'd come in such close contact.

So Nick smelled Kate's skin (vanilla cream) one last time and then drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Third and last installment coming up next (when I write it), what will happen next?

Do we finally get that hot make out scene?  
Will Carl make a number of inappropriate jokes?  
How will Kate and Nick act come morning?


	3. Chapter 3

**Title**: The One Where Kate is Hitting On Nick Instead of the Other Way Around, or The Stakeout  
**Series**: Hint: Kate is blonde, but that's all I'm giving you.  
**Disclaimer:** The character's in this fanfic belong to me like that eighth grade paper on The Big Bang Theory did. Sorry Mr. Powell. It was my last if that's any consolation.  
**Summary: **_"Kate." The first time tonight Nick used Kate's first name, and it was said with such warmth and sweetness COMPLETE. .  
_**Note**: I'm not even going to try and explain why it's taken me so long to finish this story, let's just say this is the first thing I've written in fifteen months. I've just spent the last week of my vacation revamping the previous two chapters (it's been quite a few years since I've touched the first chapter) and writing this one. My writing style has obviously changed since the last time I've written anything, it seems to have taken on a less jolly tone, and I apologize now if that throws anyone off. BUt, please ENjoy. And REview. DO it.  
**Odd Shout Out: **To reviewer 'Miranda', let me just say that I really appreciate your review where you said, and I quote "but I am saving reading this fic until it is completed.". I actually thought about this line quite a few times when I would try to make myself finish this story. And now it's complete. SO I expect that review you promised.

**Chapter Three. **

Nick's neck was sore.

Of course, he didn't know this yet.

Nick was currently in La La Land, dreaming the plotline to Memoirs of a Geisha. Which was odd considering that he'd never made it past page thirty and Carl happened to be the Geisha. But the dream was interesting (if not confusing) and Nick twisted in his sleep to give his neck a rest from its odd angle. This would do little to help the stiffness that had already formed, but would help prevent any further infirmary.

However, in Nick's twist to get more comfortable, he had the unfortunate effect of elbowing Kate in the eye. Which, sufficient to say, woke her up cursing.

Clutching her eye and more than a little dazed, Kate wondered why her eye felt like it'd been elbowed and felt a small amount of smugness that she could still swear like a sailor if the need arouse.

Using her free hand to pull back the covers, Kate stumbled her way to the bathroom, spending the 2nd longest amount of time any person in the entire world could at 9:23am to find where the light switch was and turn it on. (The first being Bernice Callighan. It was widely believed that the fact a boy had been named as a girl was the cause. The real reason was that he was just lazy).

As she stumbled to the mirror (abstractly wondering why her clothes littered the bathroom floor when she was usually more tidy than this) Kate had to admit that her eye didn't really hurt anymore, just stung a bit. But she peered at her eye anyway and noticed with some interest that is looked a bit more blue than usual. Also their was a very big possibility she'd bruise. But more on that later.

Feeling content with the knowledge her eye was firmly socketed to her head, Kate went about her morning rituals.

It should have been obvious to Kate by now that she wasn't in her own apartment. Forgetting the fact that the bathroom wasn't the same as her's (or shape), there was the different toilet paper brand to consider, the change in toothpaste (in a completely unrelated story Kate happened to have bought a toothbrush and left it in Nick's apartment. It was an interesting note that it had moved from the common bathroom to Nick's master, but if she hadn't noticed by now she wasn't in the right apartment, there really was no hope for her to notice this fact and wonder about it), lack of her face wash and no inspirational quotes on her mirror.

It was the shower that made her realize.

Well, the shampoo anyway.

Since dying her hair blonde (and having her sister scare her with horror stories), Kate had bought the fancy salon shampoo/conditioner for color treated hair and used it religiously since.

Nick, having never dyed his hair (or never admitting to it) had the generic stuff that wasn't so much shampoo as soap that felt your hair up a bit.

Kate's hair screamed in protest to this assault and Kate's brain was forced to admit that it was behaving a bit delusional and promised to act more properly.

Ergo, Kate jumped out of the shower and with the 17th quickest towel dry known to man was stuffing on the clothes she'd littered on the ground the night (er, early morning) before, wondering how she'd lost the two top buttons on her shirt.

Tying her hair into a bun, Kate walked back into Nick's bedroom and when she saw him sleeping, one arm stretched out in the place she'd just vacated; all of a sudden Kate needed to think.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Kate wondered for the first time what had happened last night.

What Kate didn't know (and at this moment, there were quite a few things for her not to know) was that Nick had just woken up by her body's weight on the bed and was remembering what it was like to suddenly realize that Kate had been infected with the link's breath.

_Nick has never known a jacket to be sneaky before. _

_Really, with the way his night had been going, Nick should have expected Kate's jacket to have ended up at the warehouse. He should expected for Alice (the PR guru) to call The Captain with Kate's phone the moment Nick thought he'd found it and he should have especially known that this entire fiasco would have been labeled his fault._

_And Nick, despite everything, probably would have able to cope with all of that, except that at that moment Carl let out one of his ridiculous comments and Nick flew off his handle. _

_Of course, not at that exact minute, because he was right IN FRONT of The Captain and was not so far gone as to be incapable of self-control, but the moment everyone was dismissed from Jonathon's meeting, Nick made his way to the snack machine. Kate, whose eyes seemed incapable of leaving Nick's form, followed after Nick, and calmly watched him as he mercilessly beat the snack machine to a clobbered pulp (only stopping once in the middle to buy a snickers bar, eat it, and then resume the beating),_

_Kate didn't once try to stop Nick from his massacre, even though she also hadn't eaten since lunch and could go for a twix bar. Or five._

_It was only when the room had quieted down that Kate chanced speaking,_

_"Feel better?" Nick admitted (albeit in a roundabout manner) that he did. "Good." Kate moved from leaning against the wall to his side. She was smiling. _

_"What?" Nick's question was a trifle rude, but Kate decided to ignore that. Or, more precisely, the (for lack of a better word) drug coursing through her veins decided it wasn't important for her to pay attention to Nick's manners when she could imagine other things his mouth could do to her, . _

_"What 'what'?"_

_"Why are you smiling?"_

_"Because I'm with you."_

Nick wished he could stop his brain at this moment, that Jonathon had walked in at this instant (instead three minutes and twelve seconds later), that he had realized Kate had been infected with the drug (by now he had more than enough information to make the cognitive leap) because then what Kate did next would not matter to him so very much.

_Nick has never before understood the concept of talking it out. Intellectually it made sense to him, and sometimes, when he was just annoyed or mildly upset, talking to Kate usually helped quite a great deal, but it was temporary, more temporary than kicking Carl or yelling at some link. And when Nick was wildly and truly upset, only the physical reaction of beating the brains out of something truly made him feel better. Only when he became exhausted by physical excursions did Nick feel any real peace of mind. _

_But that phrase. _

_That four word phrase, dear Gd, it was a miracle worker. Nick felt the residual tension leave his body. He felt his bleak outlook on life take a brighter look. He felt the weight he carried around with him weigh a little less. _

_Nick was suddenly unable to help a smile from stretching across his face. _

_"Kate." The first time tonight Nick used Kate's first name, and it was said with such warmth and sweetness that Kate immediately replied with_

_'Nick." She sounded a bit more whimsical than him, but the meaning was clear. _

_"Thanks."_

This 'thanks' was the first thing Kate thought of, sitting on Nick's bed, pondering on the night before. What she didn't yet know, and wouldn't for another two weeks was that this thanks would haunt Kate later on in life. Never before had a 'thanks' been uttered with such simplicity, as though it could be ignored without looking deeper, but Kate was listening, probably more than she had in a long time, and heard, within this word, a desperate attempt at communicating gratitude on a scale that was unbecoming such a statement, and therefore could not be addressed.

And some part of Kate wanted to give Nick a 'thanks' of the same caliber but the drug twisted and deformed the noble thought into well, (jumping back into Nick's head), a kiss.

_it was supposed to convey a message, this kiss. It was supposed to bridge a foundation from friendship to relationship. It was supposed to put Nick at ease and tell him that they could make this work. It was also supposed to console Nick and tell him that he hadn't almost lost another partner, and that he shouldn't blame himself for what happened. _

_What really happened though, was that Nick felt a lust flare up in his limbs so strong that later that night, while driving Kate to his apartment, he was glad Jonathon didn't find them in a more compromising position. _

Nick was in a dilemma.

It wouldn't do to still pretend to be asleep while Kate so obviously looked (so Nick had peeked a look at her with her back turned) as though she were in turmoil not knowing what happened the night before (which was exactly what Jonathon said would happen if she weren't reminded of what happened within eighteen hours) but knowingly going into this conversation with Kate, it was a hard thing to stomach.

If only he hadn't been such an active participant in their kiss.

_It started with a look. _

_Although this thing Kate did with her eyes, it can't really be called a look. 'A look' sounds innocent and benign, but this look, it would take the naiveté out of a toothpick. _

_Before Nick could decipher what Kate's look meant beyond 'You're hot.' (The same sort of 'you're hot' that Frohike had brandished on Scully the first time he'd met her) her mouth was on his. To a casual observer it would seem like they had been kissing each for eons as her hand slipped naturally to the back of his neck and his arm knew before being told to grab the side of her back and pull her closer, a smile appearing on Nick's face and Kate's eyes. But if one paid more attention they'd see noses bumping more than necessary and Kate opening her eyes for just the briefest of moments to check and make sure that Nick was enjoying himself. _

_He was. _

_Sidestepping all that confusion had to offer him, Nick was taking this kiss for all its worth, pulling Kate's body closer to try to cool off some of the aching in his own (and only adding fuel to the fire), fingertips trailing her jaw in an attempt to anchor himself to her, to get the image of her twisted body on the musty floor out of his head, to feel her alive. A small gasp of delight issued from Kate's mouth, and it drew Nick to near madness. It had been so long that Nick had been kissed like this (hell, even wanted to), with emotions as well physicality that all rationality was lost on him. Their kiss took on a seductive edge, his hand slowly crawling up her side, raging to touch parts of her that he rarely even let himself dream about. It was only when Nick's thumb brushed the underside of Kate's breast that a startled yelp was heard. _

_The squeal came from Jonathon, who had test results in one hand, a phone in the other and a startled expression on his face._

_What Nick hadn't been thinking about (but was actually extremely significant to the story) was something The Captain had ordered after the jacket had been found. _

_Blood tests._

_For both Nick and Kate._

_To test and make sure they hadn't been infected when handling the sample. _

_And Jonathon, after getting through Nick's blood work, had found Kate's laden with what would one day affectionately be called P32RTXZ5. Being a good person, and realizing what sort of shenanigans Kate could be getting into, called Kate. _

_It rang on her desk four times and then went to voicemail. _

_So Jonathon called Nick, her partner and best friend, and his phone annoyed the entire squad room for forty-seven seconds before going to voicemail. _

_Panicking, Jonathon decided to go to The Captain with the intention of asking for help, and stumbled on Nick and Kate making out instead. _

What Nick needed was an icebreaker, he decided, something to say to Kate so that this conversation would be easier.

Alcohol would be the safest bet, but seeing as how it wasn't past ten yet, Nick had low hopes of getting Kate to drink anything.

_Nick felt the proverbial sucker punch right in his stomach. _

_Listening to Jonathon explain exactly how this drug affected the human body, Nick's brain mercilessly played back every moment Kate acted oddly. It became a chant; a flash of images in his head that wouldn't end. _

_Nothing seemed able to bring Nick out of his reverie (even Kate's attempt at flirtation with Jonathon –and his awkward attempts in return- didn't help) until the question of a safe place where Kate could go came up. _

_The Captain, who until now was silent, spoke up. _

_"O'Malley, take Benson to your residence until she's back to normal."_

_"But sir," _

_"And no funny business." The Captain was thinking of Nick making Kate put a lampshade on her head and then taking blackmail-able pictures, but Nick's mind could not get off that kiss- foundation shaking, earth quaking – and his reply was a bit more vehement than necessary. _

_"Of course not!"_

_"Good."_

Nick felt the weight on the bed shift and before he could recognize the feeling he had at the thought of her leaving (relief or regret?) Kate- forever now in his mind she would be Kate- settled herself back onto his bed, lying closer to him than she would have a full twenty-four hours ago, exhaling loudly as her head hit the pillow.

"How much did I have to drink last night?"

Evidently his rouse at being asleep really didn't work (or maybe she asked the question to herself) but Nick knew a good icebreaker when he saw one, and knew that he needed to explain to Kate what had happened last night.

Twenty-three minutes later, Kate found her memory to have gone from completely empty to simply spotty. Forty-seven minutes after that, Kate found her memory to be mostly intact in some areas "I'm not actually scared of spiders you know. Honestly, most indigenous spiders in Chicago aren't poisonous so there's no reason to be- why are you laughing?", to patchy in other areas "I hit on Jonathon?", to pitch black, "So how inappropriate did I go? I wasn't found, like, making out with anyone, was I?"

At this point Nick had taken a break to shower and figure out how to answer that question. Perhaps if he called Jonathon and threatened bodily harm if he told Kate what had happened…

Kate was currently trying to make a breakfast in Nick's kitchen, humming along with a song in her head.

And going on the sounds that were coming out of the kitchen, Nick knew he could make the informed guess that it wasn't going well.

_"Heya Nick." Two minutes in the car and these were the first words spoken. _

_"Heya Kate." _

_"I love the way you say my name." It was akin to torture to hear Kate so free with her words and he unable to make her delve into the details. _

_"Benson."_

_"Sometimes I try to think up conversations just so that I can hear you talk." _

_"I hate links." A mumble more than a reply._

_"What was that?" In response, Nick turned the volume to the radio up. Kate turned off the radio when the car started to vibrate. And started giving a stern lecture about the care of protecting one ears._

_Nick fervidly wished they were already at his apartment until Kate stopped mid-sentence to whisper something into Nick's ear. _

_Nick then wished he'd had the foresight to bring a tranquilizer gun._

_END._

Epilogue.

Kate had outdone herself.

With only Nick's measly fridge and cupboard contents able for cooking Kate had fashioned an actual meal that Wheaties would be proud of. Grabbing two plates at random (it seemed Nick didn't have an actual set of dishes but lots of different sets that only contained one or two of its original members) Kate began to set Nick's table.

And ran what little memory she had of last night over in her head.

As she poured what could be considered orange juice but was more likely powered artificial preservatives into a pitcher Kate tried to figure out how inappropriate she'd gone last night. From what Nick had told her, it hadn't been so bad, but Kate felt more than knew, that Nick was holding something back.

But Nick loved to tease her, so what would he hold back. True, he'd joked relentlessly about her flirtations but Kate remembered quite clearly Jonathon talking about what this link did to its prey and Kate felt like she'd been let off easy.

Hearing Nick's bedroom door open, it startled Kate enough to drop the spoon she was holding, with a muted curse, she put it back on the table, and quickly forgot she'd dropped it as her gaze ran across the table and landed on a spot that should have a serving fork but didn't. Kate went back into the kitchen to grab the offending utensil and found a bite size candy bar wrapper stuck to a big spoon. With the smile of one who was used to their friends quirks but still found them amusing, Kate peeled the wrapped off and then took a quick look at what kind before throwing it away.

It was a snickers bar.

And as Kate grabbed the serving fork she was forcefully reminded of a snack machine.

She walked to the table, noticing abstractly that Nick was already sitting at the table, eating his porridge with gusto, wondering why this snack machine mattered to her, when her eye caught his and she remembered.

Peering over the orange juice pitcher, Nick wondered what had made Kate blush.

And Kate?

She wondered how she was going to get Nick back for not telling her they'd kissed.

Not telling him she'd dropped his fork seemed like a pretty good start.


End file.
